Sabah boys shock Perak 3-1

DEFENDING champions Kuala Lumpur will face a do-or-die mission to qualify for the semi-finals when they face Sabah in the Boys’ Group A of the MHC-Milo-NSC Under-14 Hockey tournament in  Kuala Terengganu.
    Even though KL beat Sarawak 3-0 yesterday, Sabah opened the Group A standings by beating Perak 3-1.
    For the record, Perak had beaten KL 4-2 earlier in the tournament.
    “As you can see, we lost to Perak, while Sabah beat Perak. So we can’t take our last pool match for granted, and my boys will have to bring out their best to play in the semi-finals and defend out title,” said KL team manager Ali Sulaiman.
     Ali said he was not making excuses, but they lost the Perak match to weather, and a water-logged pitch.
    “We were unlucky that it rained heavily during the match, and when we played, the pitch was water-logged and my players could not move the ball well while the Perak boys looked like they were more comfortable playing on a heavy pitch.
    “Against Sabah, hopefully it does not rain again, and my players also need to make sure they dont miss sitters like in previous matches,” said Ali.
    In the Boys’ Group B, its also still an open affair with hosts Terengganu, Malacca, Johor, Selangor and Pahang still in the hunt for the two knock-out slots.
    RESULTS: Boys’ Group A: Perak 1 Sabah 3, Kuala Lumpur 3 Sarawak 0, Kedah 1 Penang 0.
   Group B: Negri x Kelantan x, Johor 2 Pahang 7, Terengganu 2  Selangor 2.
    Girls’ Group A: Terengganu 0 Malacca 1.
    Group B: Negri 6 Kelantan 0, Johor 0 Penang 6, Kedah 2  Selangor 5.
    TODAY: Boys’ Group A -- Perlis v Sarawak, Perak v Penang, Kuala Lumpur v Sabah.
    Group B: Malacca v Pahang, Negri v Selangor, Johor v Kelantan.
     Girls’ Group A: Terengganu v Kuala Lumpur, Malacca v Sarawak.
   Group B: Kelantan v Johor, Kedah v Penang, Selangor v Negri.